Chapter 2: Chapter One
2056, January 1st
The day starts out slow; most of it is spent packing. Though when you have to travel light, there's not much packing to be done. A couple pairs of clothes and a few mementos in my Batman backpack. Which matches the Batman jacket tied around my waist. After pulling my knee length black combat boots over my favorite pair of skinny jeans; I run downstairs of the farmhouse to meet up with Zakk and Jedd. Whom happens to be coming out of the barn with the horses in tow.
Gunshots on the other side of the house draws our attention away from the horses. Running around the house, we find a couple of people running away from Zs. Not even looking at my brothers, I take off in their direction. The woman happens to fall on her way to the house. The man tries to help her up but doesn't notice the Z gaining on them to their left. Quickly, I slide into the Z like I used to for softball. While the Z's dazed, I grab a hold of the woman's left arm to help drag her to her feet.
"Run!" I shout as a gunshot echoes from Jedd's sniper rifle up by the house.
I look over my shoulder to see the Z I tripped fall to the ground. More of them came up from the creek, breaking free from our only defense from the Z's. Which just happens to be the mud that the river creates from the years of use by cows and other livestock. As a kid I used to play on the river bank until I fell in. When my brothers couldn't pull me out they had to go get my parents. Not only did I ruin my favorite dress and lose a shoe in the mud, which we never recovered, but my mom had to get it in picture.
"Hurry!" Zakk yells from the gate that I had subconsciously jumped over getting to the strangers.
Catching up to them, I realise just why the woman fell to begin with. A nasty slice runs up her calf to her knee. They must have come from out by Butcher Canyon, which is due north of our current position. And if they did, I'm gonna have to get to the wound soon. I throw her left arm over my shoulder as we make it through the gate. Zakk slams it shut then blasts a couple of Zs with his sawed off shotgun. We ran back around the house to the horses.
"Quickly! We don't have much time," I say dragging the two of them to Snow.
"Wait! We've never ridden before," he says trying to pull back.
"As long as you keep her," I say pointing at the woman who's passing out in our arms, "on Snow then she will do the rest." I finish pulling the woman away from him. "Now, get on her!" I grunt out after receiving all of her weight.
'This bitch is a lot heavier than she looks!'
He grunts as he gets on Snow then slides behind the saddle. Jedd lifts her up onto the saddle with the help of the man. While I grab a sheet from the entryway to wrap around her calf and pull a couple of hair ties out of my pocket. I roll the hair ties up her calf, one above her cut, the other below it making sure the sheet stays in place. Then Jedd gets on his horse, the same with Zakk, while I get on Velvet, my mom's all black horse. We start heading west, to the closest town to us.
We ride for about an hour, though we did slow down once we got about two miles from the farm. But when the woman became paler than I would've liked, I made us stop so that I can properly bandage her up. We happen to stop by a small creek that is snaking its way through a small cluster of trees. The shade provided by the trees keeps the scorching sun from us. While the cool crystal clear water quenches our thirst.
"Here," I say, handing the man a water bottle that I had just filled. "She needs to stay hydrated." I imply for him to feed it to her since she's still passed out.
As he does, I grab the trauma kit from my saddle bag. Dad did always say that you could never be too careful. But then again, he was the one that built a bunker underneath our horse barn. Quickly, my thoughts go back to the task at hand. Luckily for me she happened to rip her entire pant leg open up to her knee as well. So I just grab the small bottle of alcohol from the kit and pull back her pant leg.
Looking at him I say, "You should probably grab her arms."
Which he does as I start pouring the alcohol down her calf. She stirs as it starts soaking in, killing most of the infection that had started forming. After emptying the bottle on my hands, I grab a needle and the suture thread. The first couple of stitches she is fine, only stirring ever so often. But when I get halfway done, she wakes up and all hell breaks loose.
She starts screaming as if I'm killing her, which anybody would tell you is a very bad idea. Not only does the scent of blood draw Zs but so does sound. And she's making a lot of noise, which will only fuel their rage even more. Now, I have to have Zakk hold her leg down so I could finish stitching her up. And I am almost done, just have a couple more stitches to go. When all of a sudden, Jedd starts firing his rifle.
"We got Runners!" He shouts still firing off into the distance.
Zakk and I exchange a worried glance as he says, "We gotta move now."
"You have to hold perfectly still for me," I say calmly while looking into the woman's eyes. And as she nods I look back at Zakk, "Go help him."
He leaves me to my business as she and I work on the last couple of stitches. She does really well about not moving her leg. But when Zakk starts firing his shotgun, is when I realize just how fucked we are. I quickly start wrapping her leg with gauze trying to be as gentle as possible. I'm packing the kit into my bag when the hairs on the back of my neck starts to tingle. I look back at the couple with an odd feeling in my stomach.
'They don't want us, they want her.'
"Cece!" Zakk and Jedd yell as all the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight.
Reaching for my knife that's tucked nicely into my boot, I spin around. Knife now in hand and arm stretched out, the blade sinks deep into the temple of the Runner that was coming straight for us. With the momentum of my swing, I slam the Runner down to the ground stopping him in his tracks beside me. Looking over at the couple, I pull the knife out of its temple. Without hesitation, I launch the knife in their direction. It flies past the girls head, blowing her hair over her shoulder, right in between a Crawler's eyes.
"What the fuck!" He screams while coming at me. "You risk all of our lives, just so you can almost kill her! Why even throw it towards my sister in the first place?" He's in my face by now.
Watching her, I state flatly, "I didn't, now did I?" And to answer his question I just continue to watch her.
He turns around to see her pulling my knife out of the Crawler's head. We watch as she struggles a little to get to her feet. Her face seems to pale a little from pain as she takes a couple of steps to us. While handing me the knife she leans on her brother for support. Jedd and Zakk ride up to us with the horses.
"Took care of the Runners but Zs are still coming," Zakk informs us while handing the man Snow's reins.
"I'm not getting back on that damn animal," he states coldly.
Snow and I must've been thinking the same thing. 'Cause she knickers and pulls back slightly away from him as I glare at him.
"You act like you have a choice." The ice inside my voice startles him, staring at me as I climb on Velvet.
"Gray," his sister mutters weakly, "we need their help."
"But, Tea..." he's cut off by her almost collapsing in his arms.
Realising he has no other option, he reluctantly climbs on Snow. We continue heading west, almost making it to the Colorado border before nightfall. The little town looks completely deserted, but we know that looks can be deceiving. So while Gray and I find a house without the door busted down, Jedd and Zakk check the rest of the buildings for Zs. We help Tea into the front door of the multi floor house.
While Gray gets Tea comfortable in the living room, I check the rest of the house. I creep through trying to be as quiet as possible. I find a couple of kids rooms, an office, and a library along with the kitchen on the first floor. Three more bedrooms and what looks like what used to be an expensive ass gaming room. And judging from the blood everywhere no one made it out. Alive. I'm at the top of the stairs leading to the last floor which, I believe, is supposed to be an attic but they turned it to a huge bedroom.
All of a sudden, something grabs onto my shoulder. I spin around ready to fight. So ready, that my knife was in hand heading straight for Gray's temple. In a blink of an eye Gray's hand is around my wrist. He pulls me to the left of him, pushing me up against the wall. I'm completely caught off guard by his reflexes. And in that moment I truly 'saw' him.
His dark brown hair curls just slightly at the tips. Hazel isn't enough to describe his eyes; when there is blue around his pupil weaving in and out of the gold and green. His full lips part slightly as if he is getting ready to say something, but then closes as if changing his mind. He stands only slightly taller than my five foot six inches, probably six foot give or take a couple of inches. His body is already pressed slightly into mine, sending shivers up and down my spine.
Closing my eyes as he leans his head down, I'm surprised by the sparks as his lips meet mine. I have been kissed before but it has been six years. And back then they were never as fiery as this one. He grabs onto my waist pulling me even closer into him. Next thing I know is my legs getting pulled out from under me. Wrapping my arms around his neck so I don't fall backwards, he carries me over to the swinging bed in the middle of the room. He must've taken the knife from me 'cause as he lays me down he sets it on the nightstand next to the bed.
He looks back at me with fire in his eyes which only seems to grow more as he looks me over. He slowly starts undressing me, staring with my shirt. Dropping it on the floor, he showers my neck and chest with kisses while unclasping my bra. Expertly, he sucks one of my perky nipples into his mouth while his hands work unbuttoning my pants. Slowly, his hand makes it inside my panties sending ripples of pleasure to mix with the waves his mouth was causing.
The wave of ecstasy that was slowly building crashes over me as he gently rubs my clit. I fight back a moan as he slides a second finger in me stretching my walls slightly more. I keep asking myself if I'm really going to do this; but seeing as how I haven't had any male contact, besides family, since Z-day. So I think my mind is already made up.
Gray removes his fingers, after sending three more waves onto my body, causing me to whine a little in protest. He smirks at me while removing my pants and panties before bending his head to replace his fingers. Gasping, I reveal in the feelings his tongue was creating in my body. I thrust my hips up forcing his tongue to enter me more as he sucks feverishly at my clit. Moaning softly, I reach the top of my climax begging for release as he grabs a hold of my hips. Forcing his tongue to rub my clit as he sucks like he has been deprived of water and I was his canteen.
Blinding pleasure racks my body as I orgasm all over his mouth which he gladly drinks up. Pulling back, he locks eyes with mine as he licks his lips. I hadn't noticed him undress himself, though I was a little preoccupied. He climbs on top of me giving me a perfect view of his throbbing manhood. Which is probably more than six inches long and thicker than I think I could possibly take. Though as he slowly pushes into me, letting my walls adjust, he somehow fits all of himself within my folds.
The air around our bodys, quickly becomes thick and hot as he starts thrusting deep in me. My quiet moans fill the air as well along with the occasional grunt from Gray. Ever so slightly, I feel Gray slow down with his thrusts. Thinking he needs a break, I push him over and crawl on top of him before sliding onto his shaft. Rotating my hips, I grind on him sending pleasure to course through my veins. His hands grab my hips forcing me to increase my pace. My walls clamp onto his shafts as I orgasm again and again.
Wave upon wave crashes against my body pulling me under into an undertow of ecstasy. His pace never slows, if anything it has only increased with each orgasm. The smirk on his face tells me he is most definitely enjoying the view. Suddenly he sits up, grabbing a handful of my hair forcing me to tell my head back. His mouth closes around my nipple, sucking hard as he starts bouncing me on his lap. Another wave of pleasure crashes down on me, causing me to quietly moan his name. I'm filled with warmth as he grunts my name before falling back onto the bed.
"What happened there?" Gray rubs a scar on my right thigh as I slowly rise off him.
"I was young and dumb," I keep my answer short at sweet that way I don't have to stroll down memory lane with him.
'I hope I made the right decision or this is going to backfire in my face.'
~§~
Zipping up my boots, the front door slams shut reverberating the entire house and swaying the bed. As I leave Gary to finish getting dressed I grab the leather jacket that is on the back of the rocking chair next to the bed. Making my way to the stairs on the second level, I toss the jacket to Jedd who is at the bottom of the stairs on the first level. He catches it with one hand while holding something behind his back with the other.
"We clear?" Zakk asks, stepping out of the living room to the right of Jedd.
"Clear," I answer while looking curiously at Jedd.
"Just give it to her before she pops a cork," Zakk says while slapping Jedd on the back.
Jedd pulls his arm from behind his back and I'm instantly in front of him. He hands me a gorgeous katana that is made of black steel with a black carbon fiber handle that has a pair of red dragons weaving around it. The holster is made the same way as the handle and has a clasp at the top so I can hook it to my belt. Pulling it out of the holster, I twirl it around a little gauging its weight. Sliding it back into the holster, I find out just how sharp the blade is. Blood pours out of the inch long cut that runs just below the bottom knuckle of my index finger along the side of my left hand.
"Damn it Cece! This right here," Zakk complains as he wraps a bandana around my hand, "is why dad took his back from you."
"Hey at least it's not like the last time," Jedd chuckles as he slides into the jacket.
Reminding us of the day dad finally graduated me from wooden swords. My heart falls slightly at the memory of mother's panicked word when dad carried me into her lab bleeding profusely out a five inch gash on my right thigh. Which brings my train of thought back to the room where Gray had noticed the scar. I can feel my blood begin to boil so I quickly try to change topics.
"Find anything else out there?"
"Besides a couple of cars that might run, the town's clear of Zs," Zakk says while walking back into the living room.
"What about food?" Tea asks, sitting up on the couch.
"Nothing out there that's still good," Jedd answers.
"I haven't checked the kitchen, yet, for food," I state, kneeling down beside Tea to check her bandages.
"Through that door?" Zakk asks.
But before I can answer Jedd is going through it screaming like he hit the jackpot. A lot of banging goes on in the kitchen as I'm unwrapping her leg. Her stitches seem to be holding so I wrap her back up gently. She hisses in pain a couple times but she seems to be doing better. I look up at her, after packing the kit back in my bag, to find her staring at the doorway leading to the stairs. I turn around to watch Gray straighten up from leaning on the frame. They're staring at each other as if having a silent argument.
'For some reason, I'm getting the feeling that it might be about me'
"It's looking good," I break the silence. "I think you might live." Teasing her a little as I stand up.
"Cece!" Zakk hollars from the kitchen.
"Huh?" Walking through the kitchen door, I find my brothers at the back door.
As I get closer, I see what they're staring at. Well more like who. Three girls are running for their lives, away from a small hoard of Zs. The boys didn't need me to tell them to open the door, they were already doing so. As I jump off the porch, I can hear Gray shouting from the door after us. The girls see us and head our way. I pull out my katana, swinging it in my right hand.
"Duck!" I shout and they do so as they run past me.
With one quick movement, I slice off the heads of three Runners that were catching up to them. The rest are easy enough for Jedd and Zakk to take care of. We make our way up the porch stairs and into the house. Everyone shuffles into the living room. Well everyone but Gray, who drags me back into the kitchen by my waist. He pushes me up against the fridge door.
"What makes you think you can just risk your life?" He asks angrily.
"What makes you think that you own me now?" I retort pulling out of his grip and walking into the living room.
Two of the girls are curled up on the loveseat next to the couch. The other is on the floor in front of them. They explain that the two are sisters and the other is the older one's best friend. The sisters are Avery and Maizy and the friend's name is Bryce. They've been heading west since their last sanctuary in east Texas got overrun.
"We got pushed north somewhere along the Texas-Oklahoma border," Bryce tells us what happened while Avery gets Maizy to sleep in one of the kids rooms on the second floor. "They lost their father there." She looks up from her drink at me. "He was the only thing keeping us alive for the longest time."
"We were so afraid that we were going to die," Avery says from behind me and Zakk at the bottom of the stairs next to Jedd. "That is until we heard him," she looks at Gray, who is sitting on the arm of the couch, "and saw you." Looking back at me before heading to the loveseat.
"Who's ready for a drink?" Jedd asks holding up a couple different bottles of alcohol. "We got vodka and tequila." He adds with a wicked grin.
"I'm more of a whiskey girl myself," Tea pipes up from underneath Gray's arm.
"There's a bottle of that, too, upstairs!" Jedd's grin widens as he pushes the bottles at Zakk. "Let me go grab it," he yells as he runs back upstairs.
Zakk and I exchange glances before chuckling about our brother's hormones. Even in high school he would do the stupidest things to get a girls attention. And right now I'm not sure which one he wants if not all three. But as he comes flying down the stairs, it's pretty clear that he didn't care. I giggle as I walk into the kitchen to grab some glasses, which I find in a cabinet next to the sink.
Walking back in, I stumble into Gray who was walking past the door. Catching the glass that fell from my hands before it hits the floor, he continues past me. Grabbing the vodka from Zakk, he walks out of the room. I look at Tea but she just shakes her head as if reading my mind. So I just brush it off for now and hand out the rest of the glasses. The boys start pouring the alcohol into our glasses, while us girls talk about where we grew up.
Avery and Maizy had lost their mother long before Z-day to Leukemia. That was when their father took them from that crappy apartment in east L.A. back to the family farm in southeast Texas along the coast. There, they bred and sold horses for the next nine years 'till all hell broke loose. Along the way, they had picked up a few strays, meaning Bryce.
She and Avery had become the closest of friends when Avery had moved into town. But a year before the beginning of hell, Bryce had lost both of her parents in a terrible car accident. With her brother being overseas based at the air force-naval base stationed in Italy, Avery's father agreed to watch her until he was released from deployment. Though seeing as how the world fell before that could happen, she doesn't know if she can continue holding onto hope.
"If he's in the military then he more than likely is still alive," I say grabbing Bryce's hand. "You should never give up hope. It's the only thing keeping us going. Cause without it there's no point in being alive..." I drift off from repeating the words Dad had said to me when Mom had passed.
I look at my brothers who had recognized the words. They raise their glasses in my direction and I clink mine against theirs, cheersing our fallen father. I down the rest of the Apple Crown in my glass. Stretching while standing up from the stool I carried in from the kitchen, I head for the door. Grabbing the flashlight from my bag before heading out, I pause when Zakk hollars.
"You good?" He asks after I turn around to face him.
"Yea," I smirk, "just need some fresh air."
Turning back around after he nods, I close the door behind me. I check the first couple of houses looking for anything that the two knuckleheads might have missed. Nothing of real importance, but I did happen to find a touch screen mp3 player that has over 4 thousand songs, a pair of Bluetooth headsets, and Windows 26 netbook powered only for Word Processor with a silicone keyboard that doubles as a cover for the screen. Going closer to the highway, I see a small gas station. Jogging over to it, I check for Zs while trying to be as quiet as possible.
'One can never be too careful while trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.'
Walking in, I realise that they didn't even check this building. The shelves are almost completely stocked with what little food it carries. But first I check the back office for any ammo or weapons. Zakk's going to be happy that I found some shotgun shells, though I'm tempted to not tell him. But I can't really see myself doing that to him, after all he is the only one that truly gets me.
I'm packing most of the groceries up in trash bags that I found behind the counter when a creaking noise draws my attention outside. A dark figure passes the window that's three feet from the door. Quickly, I bolt for the wall right next to the door pulling out my knife from my boot. A barrel of some sort of assault rifle is the first thing to peek through the door. He really should learn how to check a room 'cause I'm on him before he could think about turning around.
Placing my knife right on top of his jugular while pulling his head back onto my shoulder. "You should drop the weapon before I drop you," I say quietly in his ear.
Clicking behind me makes me tense. "You should take your own advice," a masculine voice threatens.
I glance over my shoulder to find another barrel of a smaller gun pointed at my head.
'Maybe I should have thought this through a little more.'
I really should have noticed the second guy but it's a little too late to be chastising myself. Not with a barrel pointed to the back of my head. And I am about to loosen my grip of the blade when I hear the hammer of a revolver click into place.
"I think you should listen to the lady." I have only heard that deep tone being whispered into my ear; it's different hearing it as a threat.
The men hand me their weapons as Gray pushes the one out of the doorway. I quickly turn on my flashlight, pointing it at the floor first before shining it on them. They're dressed in the official navy blue camo print cargo pants with black combat boots. One of them is in a black v-neck t-shirt while the other is in a gray tank top. The bigger man wasn't just taller but he is built like a fucking freight train. Either which way, they're taller than me but shorter than Gray.
"You guys actually part of the military?" I ask, checking the mags of the two guns. "I asked a question!" I demand after I got no answer, sliding the guns onto the counter.
"We were," the taller one spits out.
"Our base in Kansas got overrun when a doctor thought she had found a cure," the other explains in more detail.
The taller one dryly chuckles, "Some cure."
"There is no cure. Only death," I say coldly, while placing my knife back in my boot. "And doing whatever it takes to survive in this ratcheted world," I add picking up the guns off the counter, "is all that matters." Tossing the guns at them while I say the last part.
I grab the trash bags and finish filling them while Gray puts his gun away. I hand each of them a bag as I head out the door. I hear the two muttering to each other as they follow Gray and I to the house. Walking into the house, I head for the living room but pause at the stairs. Zakk is standing at the top looking down at us. Without thinking I toss the shells, I had picked up off the counter before leaving the gas station, at him.
"Looks like you boys missed quite a bit," I say while plopping down on the couch.
Gray tosses a bag into the middle of the room allowing the contents to spill on the floor. The other two walk in the room doing the same. Chips and candy bars pour out of two of the bags, while the other has canned food roll out. Giggling erupts from the kitchen as Bryce and Avery walk out; then quickly stops as they notice the men. The men turn towards them then look at one another.
"You're Bryce Landon?" The shorter one asks after looking back at the girls.
We all look at her now.
"Yea," she says skeptically while eyeing them curiously. "Why and how do you know my name?"
The taller one steps forward, "We knew your brother."
"Knew?" She mutters while stepping back toward the door.
"Bryce?" Avery and I ask at the same time.
"As in he's...?" She continues not hearing us.
"Not that we know of," the shorter one smacks the other on the shoulder as he explains. "Tango and I were with him in Italy at the beginning. And when the base was getting over ran it was Dax who got us out. By hijacking a chopper no less. But he was determined to get to you."
"Then what happened?" She asks, wanting to know.
"We made it just past New York when our chopper ran out of fuel, so Dax had to make an emergency landing. From there we hooft it until we came across a military base in Kansas. He went out on a scavenging party that was heading south towards Texas when we went north," Tango continues.
"Then we should head that way in the morning," she says excitedly.
"No." Everyone looks at me as I grab a carton of cigarettes out of one of the bags. "That wouldn't be safe." I add as I grab a pack out and open it.
"Why can't we?" Avery asks now.
"They're not here to take us back to their base," I answer, lighting the cigarette with a lighter I pulled out of my pants pocket.
"Then what are they here for?" Zakk asks, walking into the room.
I look at the men, "Did you see her brother at the base when you got back?"
"What do you mean?" Bryce demands stepping in front of Avery now. "When they got back?"
"Bry, just let them talk and we'll figure it out." Avery grabs onto her arm pulling her back and holding her.
"No but it's not like we stuck around very long once we saw it the way it was," Tango scoffs.
"Seriously?" Tango gets hit in the back of the head now. "Do you have no heart?" The man asks Tango before explaining more. "His bike wasn't back which means he wasn't either."
"When he does get back and finds it like that where would he go?" I ask in between drags.
"Fox, you really need to stop hitting me like that," Tango mutters.
"Stop your whining," he snaps before answering me, "Most likely Denver, it would be the closest base."
"If it's still protected," Tango mutters under his breath.
"Then it's settled," I say standing up from the couch after putting the cigarette out on the bottom of my shoe. "We leave for Denver in the morning."
I walk out of the room before I can hear any objections. Heading upstairs, I make my way to the top floor claiming the room for myself. Once closing the door, I head straight for the walk in closet to look for more clothes. Which I do find a few jeans and some shirts, but I also find a camping backpack lying on the floor. It's filled with supplies that someone would need for hiking.
Quickly, I grab an oversized shirt most women would use for sleep and head toward the bed. I throw my bag in the bag along with the clothes I was wearing after I slide the sleep-shirt on. Grabbing the mp3 and pack, I head out to the balcony passing through the lace curtains. After picking a song, I light a cigarette, letting the wind blow my loose hair around me.
'Tennessee Love' by Yelawolf starts playing as a warm hand slides up my thigh to my hip. From the reaction my body is giving off, I don't even need to turn around to know it's Gray. His soft lips are against my neck before I can even react, knocking the breath from my lungs. Causing my head to swim as he slowly turns me around. Pulling back slightly, he grabs my cigarette, lifting it to his lips to take the last couple of drags. Flicking it off the balcony, he quickly picks me up to carry me off to bed. And for some reason I allow it, along with the night of passion that his lips promise.
'When am I gonna stop making stupid decisions?'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
SkarletVance
SkarletVance I am done editing chapter one, I hope you enjoy the updated version of Cece's and Gary's love experience. Please let me know what you think.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone